Twenty Four Seven
by comesinwaves
Summary: You love her. It was as simple that. You love her with every fibre of your being and every fibre of your soul even if it’s a full time job. But you’re sure as hell determined to spend the rest of your life doing it. Twenty four hours in Derek's life. M/D!


**24/7**

_**Summary: **__You love her. It was as simple that. You love her with every fibre of your being and every fibre of your soul even if it's a full time job. But you're sure as hell determined to spend the rest of your life doing it._

**5am**

You must have done something right, you muse, as you stare at her that morning. Somewhere in this life there must have been something that you did of such karmic greatness for you to have deserved this. Her.

But for the life of you, you can't even begin to imagine the scale of the deed that you must have done. You were not worthy for her.

On some level you were sure that one day she'd wake up and realize that. She deserved _so _much better than you. So for now, you'd appreciate every precious second you had with her.

She sits across the table from you unaware of your reverent, silent worship. Her head is bowed in a sleepy contemplation of her Cheerios, causing her hair to fall in a velvet curtain across her face. The silky, dark blonde strands hover precariously just shy of the milk in her bowl but she's still too sleepy to notice.

Her eyes are heavy lidded, dragged down with the exhaustion from the hours of sleep she lost with you the night before.

Sluggishly she drags the spoon to her mouth and swallows that mouthful reluctantly.

You can't help it as your heart swells with love. You feel so proud: _she's yours!_ You **have** to express it.

You get up and walk around the table to her chair. Tenderly you press your lips into her sweet scented hair. She mumbles into her cereal, of what might be an incoherent expression of her affection but you understand anyway.

Her roommates burst into the kitchen and drag her from her chair. She grumbles as they pull her up and out of her seat by her arms. You laugh hesitantly, torn between amusement and the overbearing protectiveness that you feel when she's around. She is pulled out of the room by a frustrated Izzie, who ignores Meredith's stationary feet. They refuse to take no for an answer and shove her coat around her shoulders pushing her out the door.

You know that if you don't hurry you too will meet the same fate. Quickly you reach for your own coat and hurry out of the door, locking it shut.

She's still half asleep as you swing yourself into the backseat of Izzie's Range Rover beside her. You laugh again as her heavy head flops onto your shoulder in exhaustion.

As the car pulls away from the house you realize that this is how you want to spend every morning for the rest of your life.

Maybe you could live without the roommates, the dragging, the 1998 Range Rover and even the Cheerios, but the rest was perfect. Her. Asleep, awake, you didn't care. For every morning, for the rest of your life. That was all you needed.

**6am**

By six, rounds have started. You stand in your patient's room, trying to maintain a serious face in front of the family. That was your job. This was _serious._

But you couldn't stop the building anticipation at the fact that rounds had started. Any moment now the Chief and his entourage of subordinates would come into the room and amongst them would be her.

'Dr Shepherd,' the Chief announced, as he walked in, right on cue.

You barely manage to nod in the Chief's direction and you're eyes automatically scan the group for her.

There.

She's standing toward the front, her interns lined up expectantly behind her. Now, she had brightened up. Obviously caffeine was pumping through her system at a rapid rate, enough so she could stand upright.

'Who's presenting?' the Chief demanded.

Meredith straightened her spine and stepped forward, 'Elizabeth Johnson, 28, admitted last week complaining of headaches. Was later diagnosed as…'

You can't help it as you lose focus. As she speaks to the gathered group she throws her hands around in the air for emphasis. Her long tapered fingers that were made just for surgery rake at the air around her. In your mind, you can feel those skilled fingers running over your scalp, clawing at your back in the heat of the moment.

You bite back a shiver and desperately try to focus on the intelligent words falling from her lips.

'So now Dr Shepherd will perform a craniotomy this afternoon,' she concluded, with a tiny, certain nod.

The Chief mirrored the nod, his eyes flickering between you and your girlfriend. He looks morally torn. She knows _everything _about this case and is undoubtedly the best candidate to work on it. But…you know the Chief is still reluctant to allow you to work by her side.

He heaves a sigh and rolls his eyes, 'Dr Grey, you'll prep this woman for surgery,'

The gaggle of light blue clad staff are herded out of the room, and he is left alone with Meredith and her interns.

You have to try your very hardest to focus on the patient first. You offer the woman a small smile and say, 'Elizabeth, I'd like to proceed with the surgery this afternoon. You're in good condition for it,'

The patient offers you a grim, brave smile and you nod to Meredith.

She in turn addresses her interns, 'Dr Leyton, book an OR for this afternoon,'

With some unsaid order, Dr Leyton along with the other interns all scurry off in different directions.

Once they were gone, you place a hand in the small of her back and lead her out into the corridor.

'Good morning,' you say once you are out of the room.

'You've said that already this morning,' she says, staring up at you, pursing her lips pretentiously.

'Yes, but last time I didn't get a coherent response. Where's my good morning kiss?'

She rolls her eyes at you, and places her hands on her narrow hips, 'Dr Shepherd. This is inappropriate,'

You're face hovers closer to hers, 'How is this inappropriate Dr Grey?'

She pulls her face away, 'The Chief barely let me stay on your service today. How am I supposed to be a neurosurgeon if I get no OR time?'

'So you're choosing the Chief over me?'

There's something in your words that causes her to react. Something flickers behind her eyes, and you realize what you've said. _Choose me._

Before you can garble a hurried apology, she presses her lips to yours briefly.

'Good morning,' she murmurs.

And with that she begins to walk away from you, only offering a, 'I'm going to pick up the labs,' for an explanation.

You wonder if you can ever make it up to her. What you did almost one whole year again was unforgivable and despite the fact that she seemed to have moved past it, you weren't sure if you could ever redeem yourself in your own eyes.

But if you had to, you'd spend the rest of your life proving to her that you did, and forever would Chose Her.

**10am**

Four. Whole. Hours.

That's how long it had been since you had seen her. She waltzed down the hall with promise of collecting the labs. You thought that ensured you at least another ten minutes in her presence. However you went to your office after your department meeting to find the stack of collected paperwork on your desk.

You spent the rest of your morning going through it on a bench in one of the courtyards. It had a particularly good view of _all _the places you knew she sometimes went.

So, for two hours you had flicked through paperwork that all told you the same thing. The woman was ready for surgery.

You can't concentrate fully on your thoughts. You fidget in your seat, your eyes darting around the courtyard. You were going through Meredith-withdrawal symptoms. You were pathetic.

A light lilting laugh causes your head to snap up. There she is.

She is standing by the coffee cart with Izzie and Cristina. A bright, rare, sunny smile lights up her face and an even rarer laugh was escaping her lips.

Instantly, your fidgeting stops, and your eyes and thoughts focused on only one thing. Her.

Her hands wrap around the coffee she is handed. She wanders into the courtyard with her friends, a light, burden less disposition about her. In that moment you vow, from this moment on, to devote your life to ensuring she stayed like that.

She obviously feels your relentless stare, as her eyes snap up to meet yours. Even from across the courtyard, you can see her eyes crinkled with laughter.

She raises a hand at you in a wave. You reciprocate, getting to your feet to meet her. At that precise moment, as if on cue, your pager blares at your hip.

You study it first: 911, then groan. You lift your eyes up to meet hers, and she screws her face up in resignation as a reply. You shrug, and give her another wave. This time, goodbye.

You make your way out of the courtyard, disappointment radiating from your heart to every inch of your body. Briefly, you glance back at her and find her blowing a kiss in your direction.

Before you can offer a kiss in return, Cristina drags her arm down, rolling her eyes mockingly. She gets pulled away from the courtyard by her friends, her giggles still ringing through the air.

Instantly your heart lifts and suddenly walking to your patient a much easier task than it may have been before.

You spend the rest of the morning with that one image in your head. Her palm outstretched, lips pursed and bright eyes in a rare display of affection.

It's then you truly realize that with her, it's the simplest things that mean the most.

**1pm**

You don't see her again until you're scrubbing in. Your hands are lathered up with soap when she bustles into the room.

She flashes you a small serious smile and joins you at the sink. Together in silence, the two of you scrub your hands and you revel in her presence alone.

You know that this is the moment she always needs before a surgery. She breathes and focuses drowning out almost everything around her. You only wish you knew sometimes what was going on in her mind.

She exhales loudly and turns to you, 'You ready?'

She's still Meredith. She's asking you as her boyfriend who has emotions and concerns. She wants to know if you'll be okay.

'Yes,' you reply firmly, with a nod.

She takes another deep breath, and a shadow crosses her face, 'Ok then Dr Shepherd,'

Meredith walks from the room, and you know that she is now Dr Grey and will remain that way until the surgery is over.

You follow her path, and announce, 'Ok everyone, it's a beautiful day to save lives,'

Through the duration of the surgery, she stands beside you. You work tirelessly and Meredith reacts to your every need. More often than not she would anticipate your moves before they had even been created in your and seamlessly you work as a team.

You realize then that you are completely in synch. She has every move of yours ingrained within her and, while in the OR can understand better than you probably understand yourself.

When the surgery is finished her grey eyes dance above her mask, happy and bright. You had saved another life and she had been a part of that. You ask her to close up and as you walk out of the OR you brush your gloved hand against hers. It was small, unnoticeable to most, but her eyes soften when she turns to look at you, you know she felt it too.

As you walk out of the OR and rip off the rubber gloves you realize: with Meredith it's the simple things that mean the most to her. To most, she was a complicated person with a past you were certain even you'd never _fully _understand, but the Meredith he knew, the Meredith he loved was a simple person, a girl who loved to be loved.

**5pm**

After the surgery you had a family to talk to and paperwork to do and emails to reply to. Time flies and before you know it your shift is over. You drag yourself, weary and sore into the locker room. Time to go home.

You emerge from the locker room on a quest to find Meredith. You wonder if she'll be done yet, whether she'll be riding home with you.

You make your way to the resident's locker room, to find Hunt leaning up against the wall beside the door. You nod, and offer him a small smile. Maybe the man deserved a medal for pursuing Yang so doggedly. You really _ought _to give him a medal; it was keeping Cristina out of your bed. You lean up against the doorframe on the other side of the door, straining your ears. From the outside you can hear loud laughs and shouts coming from within. Her giggle lifts out over the noise, and for you, everything else is white noise.

Sick of being on the outside, you peer into the locker room. Cristina is leant up against her cubby, fully dressed, studying her nails disinterestedly, completely refusing to acknowledge her sort-of-boyfriend's presence. Izzie is sprawled out on one of the benches, still in scrubs, her sweater draped over her face as she tries fruitlessly to sleep. Alex is sitting upright at his girlfriend's feet, shaking her legs; attempting to get her to move so they can all go home. And then there was Meredith. She is wearing her jeans, and holding her sweater in her hands, laughing at Alex's futile attempts. Her laughter meant that she was too preoccupied to put her sweater on, exposing her upper body and lacy black bra for the other men in the room. You growl low in your throat, causing Owen to look up in alarm. You have to fight every natural instinct you have to launch yourself into the room and cover her from prying eyes until she is dressed. You've never had such an intense dislike for Karev _or _O'Malley before.

'Derek!' her eyes light on you suddenly and she smiles broadly.

Her purple sweater slips over her head and you breath easily again, jealousy still coursing through your veins.

She wanders over to you, looping her arms around her neck.

'Hey,' she murmurs, brushing her lips against yours.

She attempts to pull away, and you cup her cheek again, pulling her in for one more. She kisses you then grumbles. Her eyes fall on Hunt and she blushes, 'Hi Dr Hunt,'

Owen sighs gruffly, 'Is Cristina in there?'

Meredith gives him a knowing smile, 'Yeah,'

'Thought so,'

She disappears back into the locker room, ordering Izzie to get up and get dressed that instant. Her voices floats out of the room as she addresses her best friend.

'You know Hunt's out there,'

'Yeah,' Cristina replied obnoxiously, 'So?'

'He's waiting for you,'

'I know.'

'Oh…'

Owen chuckles beside you, running a hand over his chin wolfishly, 'That's Yang for you isn't it?'

You laugh, knowing only too well, 'Yes. That's classic Yang,'

You can hear Cristina's obnoxious groan, 'Fine!'

Moments later both Meredith and Cristina emerge, the Asian girl with a bitter look on her face.

Owen raises his eyebrows at her, and Cristina rolls her eyes. Without another word they step away from the locker room and fall into step.

Meredith giggles, 'They're kinda cute together. But I would hate to be Cristina's boyfriend.'

You hook your arms around her waist, pulling her protectively to your side.

'Hungry?' you question, already knowing the answer.

Her eyes light up, 'Famished,'

'Well then we better do something about that,'

Together you make your way out to the car, with the knowledge that Alex and Izzie aren't to far behind.

On your way out you look down at her. Her head was rested against your upper arm, and you kiss the top of her head. You know you have a rampant jealous streak when it comes to her, something you'd never experienced with another woman, but you also know it was well deserved. She was beautiful, she was yours and you were certain to keep it that way.

**10pm**

The sleepless night and long hours take a toll on her, and by ten o'clock you're both crawling into bed wearily. She pulls back the covers and slides in, making room for you beside her. As soon as you are between the sheets she curls into your body tightly, and buries her head in your chest.

'Night Mer,' you whisper, 'I love you,'

Half asleep, with a honeyed, sleepy voice she mumbles, 'I love you too,'

**5am**

You awake to the sound of her blaring alarm, to Izzie screeching and to Alex's loud thuds. She's still fast asleep, all your limbs entwined with hers so you are left unsure as to where she begins and you end. Her snores are soft, muffled by the grey t-shirt you're wearing. Her hair falls around her face and her mouth is pouted adorably.

'Mer,' you whisper regretfully, not wanting to wake her, destroy her perfect peace, 'Mer, we have to get up. It's time for work,'

Meredith grumbles in her sleep, and curls tighter into you. Gently you grasp her shoulders, shaking her. She stirs, whines pathetically but refuses to awake.

Left with no choice, you bend her head and brush your lips against hers. Lids crack open revealing sleepy grey and your breath is stolen clean from you. She was _so _beautiful.

'Morning,' you murmur.

'Morning,' she croaks hoarsely.

Slowly she struggles out of bed, rubbing her hands across the material covering her stomach. She ambles around the room aimlessly, her sleep fogged mind still catching up with her body.

You smile, and laugh softly, following her out of the bed. You wrap your arms around her waist, and kiss the top of her head. She stops her path of wandering, and leans into you. You cherish the uninterrupted moment of affection, because times like this were too far and few between.

'MEREDITH! UNMOUNT MCDREAMY AND GET YOUR SCRAWNY ASS DOWNSTAIRS!' Izzie screams.

Moment over.

Meredith bites back a yawn, and pulls away from you, wandering into the hall.

And so it starts again. The routine that you hadn't realized you were a part of, that looped every single day, just one of the things that came with loving her.

You love her. It was as simple that. You love her with every fibre of your being and every fibre of your soul even if it is a full time job. Often it's not easy but it is always rewarding. And you're determined to spend the rest of your life doing it.


End file.
